I was looking at the news a couple days ago and I read that French fashion giants have recently made the decision to ban models who are roughly a size 0 or an XXS in American sizes due to scandals regarding eating disorders and mistreatment. France started this practice about two years ago in which models must get clearance by doctors saying that they have a healthy body mass index.

This got me thinking about how this is a step in the right direction to help how the world views the "ideal" body. What nearly every person gets an idea of what a human body should look like comes from advertisements of men and women who are altered physically and digitally. Photoshop, Snapchat filters, anything to alter someone's appearance to make them look "better" is far too common. Models on magazines, commercials and even in Instagram posts are touched up to make them look thinner, more muscular, and more youthful.

People see this everyday and assume that it is what they should look like, which can completely destroy one's sense of self confidence and body image. This can lead to mental health issues and eating disorders. Growing up I met way too many girls affected by these ridiculous standards and I saw how much it hurt them that they did not fit perfectly into the category of the "ideal" body. When I entered college I noticed more of the standards men are expected to meet and the toll it takes on their self esteem if they are not very muscular.

No one should have to go through this. I remember the first time I really thought I was not skinny enough to be pretty. I was 10. When I hit middle school it only got worse. I hit puberty and so my body inevitably changed and I despised that I was not thin like the other popular girls in my grade. It also did not help that one rude boy called me 'fat' to my face one day after school. It was the worst feeling I had encountered and I was so hurt by it that several years later I refused to talk to him. How could I be kind to someone who sought to tear down girls' confidence?

It was not until college really that I began seeing myself in a better view because of the positive feelings I surrounded myself with in the form of supportive friends. They helped build up my self esteem and often praised me. This led me to believe that our views reflect our environment and the ideals that are presented to us. When I started school at SUNY Oswego I saw something that was quite rare in my small class of 89 students. I saw unapologetic individuality and it moved me in a way to refuse to let what others may think of my body affect how I see myself.

My hope is that the world will follow France's step towards positive body images. I hope my future children will never cry because they think their body does not look the way it should. I hope people stop trying to alter themselves to fit into the category of "ideal" and instead learns to accept themselves for who they are. No two bodies are exactly the same, so why does society expect them to be?